Only You
by theonceandfuturedollophead
Summary: **CrissColfer RPF** When Mia breaks up with Darren and he's not as heartbroken as he probably should be, he realizes that he doesn't truly love her. He has feelings for a certain porcelain-skinned, bronze-haired gay boy instead...


**Only You**

"We're through, Darren," Mia Swier says coolly, narrowing her eyes and folding her arms over her chest.

Darren sighs. "Mia, not this again," he replies wearily, used to her threats of breaking up.

"I'm serious this time," she says in a hard tone. "You just up and left for a whole week with Chris to go to Los Angeles and you didn't even bother to inform me, your _girlfriend_, about your little impromptu trip! Do you have any idea how worried I was about you? Who knows what you could have been up to?"

Darren rolls his eyes. "Exactly, I was with Chris," he responds calmly. "He would have made sure I didn't do anything stupid."

"You think the fact that you were with Chris makes me feel better?" she demands. "Do you think I haven't noticed what's going on between you two? And don't give me that look, you know it's true! I've seen the way you look at him, the way you find every excuse to touch him!" she exclaims, growing steadily louder and angrier with each word.

And Darren is left gaping like a fish, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly, nothing but air escaping him. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mia," he says angrily, but it sounds like a lie even to his own ears.

Mia's tone becomes slightly gentler, though the strict, demanding demeanor is still there. "Look, Darren," she says, putting her hand on his shoulder. "This isn't some out-of-the-blue decision I'm making. I've been thinking about doing this for quite a while now, and your vacation with Chris just helped me confirm my decision. I'm tired of feeling like I'm getting in between the two of you, and I shouldn't be feeling that way since I'm supposed to be your girlfriend." The words are bitter, but her tone is only slightly reprimanding.

"But-" Darren starts to protest, but his girlfriend cuts him off.

"Tell me one thing, Darren," she says, looking directly at his face, flicking her long brown hair out of her equally brown eyes. "Do you still love me?"

Darren opens his mouth to say that of course he does, simply out of reflex, but then closes it again as he looks deep into her eyes and realizes that he feels… nothing. Absolutely nothing. No butterflies in his stomach, no quickening of his breath, no rapid beating of his heart.

After a moment of silence, both staring intently at each other, Mia impassively and Darren in dawning realization, the former nods in confirmation and withdraws her hand from the latter's shoulder. "I thought so. Now how about this? Do you love Chris?"

Darren looks down at the floor, frustrated, confused, and ashamed. How does he feel about Chris Colfer, his co-star and best friend?

"I don't know," he finally mumbles, but he does. He definitely does. Now that he's heard his feelings spoken aloud, he recognizes that they were always there. He was just too much of a coward to do anything about them. So he'd remained in the same relationship with a girl whom he saw as nothing more than a friend, and he'd continued treating Chris the same way he always did, even though, now that he thinks about it, the way they always act around each other is a little… overly affectionate. He hadn't thought anything of it before because, well, it's just the way they are; it's natural to them. But he could see how their relationship may seem to be more than it is to others. The constant sleepovers in the same bed, the frequent too-long hugs, the playful kisses on the forehead; they aren't things two normal guys do when they are just friends.

So yes, he is in love with Chris Colfer. God, this is messed up.

He feels a pressure on his hand, and he looks up from his intense examination of the floor to his hands, which are now clasped with Mia's. He continues his gaze upward until he reaches Mia's sympathetic face. "I know you're confused, Darren, but I know you'll figure it out. And when you do, I know it won't be me that you will choose to love. So I'm sorry, but I guess this is goodbye."

She starts to walk away after squeezing his hand once, towards the door leading out of Darren's bedroom, and Darren continues to stare at the place where she had been standing mere moments before, his thoughts jumbled up in his head, before coming back to reality when he realizes that Mia is simply leaving just like that.

He calls her name, and she stops in her tracks, turning her head around to look back at him with a small, rather sad smile. "Yes?" she asks softly.

"I just – I hope we can still be friends," Darren says awkwardly, almost guiltily, stuffing his hands in his pockets. ""You're a really nice, super cool person, and I would hate it if I lost you altogether."

Mia lets out a laugh that sounds almost like normal, the twinkle back in her eyes. "Of course we can still be friends, Darren. After all, who else would perform random covers of Disney songs for me?"

Darren has to laugh at that because it's so true. He moves forward quickly – practically runs – and embraces Mia tightly, his eyes stinging with tears. She hugs him back after a moment's hesitation, and Darren buries his head in her neck. It's not a farewell hug; it's a hug full of sadness and happiness, and loss and discovery, and goodbye and hello all at once. They simultaneously part and smile at each other. Mia leans forward and plants a small, brief kiss on Darren's cheek before turning around and walking out.

And this time Darren doesn't stop her. He watches her go with a strange feeling of wonder and lightheadedness. He stands there for a few minutes, processing. Then he wanders over to his bed and sinks down onto it, in a daze.

He's still there an hour later when Chris comes in from an audition, but now instead of sitting, he's sprawled out on his bed, asleep, one of his legs hanging off of it haphazardly.

"So get this," Chris says, dropping his coat and bag by the door. He kneels down and rummages through the faded and worn beige denim bag as he continues. "When I was waiting for my audition, in an extremely small, dark waiting room no less, I saw this lady wearing a Harry Potter shirt, and guess what it said on it."

Chris stops when he hears no response and looks up to find Darren sleeping on the bed. He lets out a laugh, shaking his head in amusement. He walks to his best friend's sleeping form and gently covers him with the olive green blanket that had been lying, neatly folded, at the base of the bed. Kneeling down beside the bed, he strokes Darren's curls off of his smooth, peaceful face, smiling.

His hand eventually wanders down to his friend's cheek, and he cups it, leaning his head forward to lovingly kiss Darren's forehead. As he pulls back, he feels Darren sigh in contentment and grab Chris's hand, cradling it against his chest. Chris grins at the gesture, delighted.

That is until Darren utters, "Mia," and sighs again, holding Chris's hand tighter.

The bronze-haired boy's smile fades, and his heart sinks horribly. Of course Darren thinks Chris's hand is Mia's. She is his girlfriend, after all.

Chris has to admit that he is jealous of Mia and always has been, ever since he'd realized that he has… more than friendly feelings towards Darren, but he can't hate her. She has always been kind to Chris, even when Darren would cancel a plan he had with her to hang out with his best friend.

Nevertheless, Chris gently extracts his hand from Darren's and rises from his position on the floor. He decides to go ahead and start making dinner, doing his best to ignore the feeling of heartbreak inside him. As he chops up some lettuce for the tacos, he hums his audition song under his breath. He had auditioned for the role of a shy theater student named Oliver in a new movie but he doesn't think he'll get the part, although it does sound like an intriguing part to play.

Half an hour later, after the tacos are ready and the table has been set, he decides to go and wake up Darren, knowing that if he doesn't, Darren won't be able to sleep afterwards and would keep him up until midnight. Sometimes Chris feels like Darren is a child who can't look after himself, and he wonders what Darren would do if Chris wasn't there to look after practically every day. Darren's apartment is pretty much Chris's second home, and he spends so much time here that he has started to wonder what the use of having his own apartment is.

He strides into Darren's bedroom to find the boy in the same spot he had been in when Chris had left him. His wildly-curly dark hair, however, has fallen back onto his eyes, and he has a smile on his face.

"Come on, sleepyhead," Chris says fondly, gently shaking Darren's body. "Time to wake up!"

Darren grunts and pulls the covers over his head.

Chris laughs in amusement. "Come on, Darren, it's dinnertime. I made chicken tacos."

Slowly, Darren pulls down the covers so that his face is exposed. "Did you make them with the crunchy taco shells?" he asks.

"Of course I did! As if I would even dream of using tortillas," Chris replied with a roll of his eyes.

He grins. "Okay! I'm up!" he says eagerly, pulling the blanket off of his body and sitting up with a yawn. He stretches his arms over his head and Chris looks away from the way his muscles flex and ripple when he does that.

"Chriiiis," he whines, and his best friend looks back to find Darren sitting in his bed with his arms outstretched towards him, a pout on his face.

Holding himself back from squealing in adoration, Chris rolls his eyes again and clasps Darren's hand with his own, pulling him up with a grunt.

"Damn, Darren, you're heavy. Probably need to lay off the tacos for a while," Chris mock-chastises.

Darren scowls. "Are you calling me fat?" he asks, playing along.

Chris nods solemnly.

"Well I never!" Darren gasps looking so shocked that Chris can't help but burst out laughing. He flicks Darren's forehead with his thumb and forefinger.

"Ow!" Darren exclaims, feigning injury, his hand flying up to cover his forehead. "That hurt."

Chris rolls his eyes again, and then brushes Darren's hand away, covering the area where they had been with his mouth in a small kiss. "Better now?" he asks teasingly when he pulls away.

To his surprise, Darren's cheeks are bright red and he's avoiding Chris's eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" Chris asks, suddenly worried. He brings his own hand to Darren's forehead. "Did I really hurt you?"

Darren shakes his head and smiles. "Nope, I'm good. Let's go eat those tacos now!" And Darren hops off the bed and out of the room, leaving Chris to follow him and curse himself mentally. How could he be so stupid? Darren must know how he feels and doesn't feel the same way. That's why he's acting so uncomfortable. They always joke around this way, but today Darren is acting different.

Chris serves dinner and they gradually grow comfortable and easygoing again as the conversation flows. Chris tells Darren about his audition and Darren assures Chris that they must have loved him and that he's guaranteed to get the part. Chris listens as Darren eagerly tells him about a new band he'd discovered on YouTube, and he promises his friend that he will listen to their music as soon as he can.

After dinner, as Chris is washing the dishes and Darren is clearing the table, the latter suggests that they watch a movie. "I'm not sleepy and I really want to re-watch The Little Mermaid," Darren petitions.

Chris laughs, playfully flicking Darren with soap-suds. "Of course you're not sleepy, you practically just woke up!" he exclaims with a grin. But he agrees to the plan, and so they both settle down on the couch with a small bucket of popcorn and a blanket. Chris snuggles into Darren's side and Darren drapes his arm over Chris's shoulder, pulling him closer.

When the song 'Part of Your World' comes on, Darren, of course, can't help but sing along, and Chris joins him, laughing. Darren rises from the couch and pulls Chris up with him, bringing him close and dancing with him, still singing.

They sway to the music, their hands intertwined, stumbling over the blanket and laughing, always laughing. They hold the last note together, staring into each other's eyes and grinning, before flopping back onto the sofa, tumbling on top of each other, breathing heavily and smiling widely.

Chris looks up, face flushed, and his nose brushes Darren's.

He freezes.

He hadn't realized that they'd gotten so close to each other, but now, as he feels Darren's breath on his lips, he has an overpowering urge to move even closer, to close that small gap between their faces and capture Darren's lips with his own.

He pulls back instead, moving his head onto Darren's shoulder and quickly untwining their hands.

Darren, however, grabs a hold of his hands and clasps them in his own, gently stroking the backs of them with his thumbs. Chris suppresses a gasp at the sensation and looks up at Darren's face. Darren is calmly watching the movie, his expression stoic, but his hands under the covers are slowly flipping Chris's hands over, thumbs drawing small, slow circles on his palms now.

Chris clears his throat and shifts a bit as his crotch area is suddenly feeling rather uncomfortable… "Um, Darren, what are you doing?" Chris asks, his voice only slightly raspy.

Darren turns to Chris and shrugs. "Your hands are soft," he says simply.

"Oh."

They continue to watch in silence until Chris finally can't take the torture anymore. "I'm going to get some water," he announces and pulls his hands from Darren's jerkily as he quickly stands up and scurries to the kitchen. He turns on the faucet and splashes his face with some cold water, trying to cool down his overheated cheeks and another area lower down that is rather excited. He wipes his face dry with a washcloth and then grabs a glass.

God, Darren has no idea what he does to Chris…

He is just taking his first sip of water when Darren walks into the kitchen, face stony. Chris gulps down the cool liquid and then asks, "Did you want some water too?"

"Mia broke up with me today."

Chris chokes on his second sip of water and Darren rushes over to help him, rubbing his back as Chris's coughing fit subsides and Darren's words sink in. He quickly turns around and captures Darren's body in a tight hug. "Oh, Darren," he says once he can talk, his eyes shining with tears for his best friend. Oh God, why hadn't Darren told him earlier? "I'm so sorry."

Darren laughs a little. "I'm not."

Chris draws back a little, looking at Darren's face with a frown, confused. "What do you mean?"

Darren smiles at Chris, a genuine smile, and it confuses him further. Why is he so happy about this? "It was for the best," Darren says calmly.

Chris looks at him like he's crazy. "What are you talking about? You were so in love with her!" It pains him to say the words, but he knows they're true.

Darren shakes his head. "I wasn't, and she helped me realize that. She said that – that she'd been thinking of breaking up with me for a while and when we went to LA without telling her, well, she made her decision."

"You idiot!" Chris scolds, whacking Darren on the arm angrily. "You didn't tell her we were leaving?"

Darren looks sheepish. "Um… No… I-I guess I forgot."

Chris opens his mouth to yell at him some more, but Darren grabs his shoulders and looks directly into his eyes, burning, bright hazel meeting endless, sparkling blue.

"I don't love her, Chris," Darren says. "I looked into her eyes, just like this, and I didn't feel anything inside of me to prove that I love her. Not like I do with you, right now."

He grabs Chris's hand and brings it to his chest, where he can feel his rapidly beating heart. "Do you feel that? That didn't happen when I looked at her," he whispers, and Chris shivers at the feeling of Darren's rather sharp breath ghosting over his face. His heart…

Darren trails Chris's hand up to his face, holding it on his cheek. "Do you feel how hot my face is? I don't get this way around her."

"I-I don't understand," Chris says hesitantly. In all honesty, Chris is pretty sure he does understand, but he can't dare to hope that what he thinks is happening may actually be true.

Instead of explaining, Darren brings his face closer to Chris's, impossibly close, closer than they'd ever been before, still staring into his beautiful eyes.

And then their lips meet in a kiss.

Chris is caught off guard. Darren's lips brush gently against his, but Chris is too shocked to respond. He reaches out and wraps his arm around Darren, steadying himself, feeling the kitchen sink behind him, and the sharpness of the cold metal on his skin is enough to shock him to his senses.

He gasps, and suddenly it's as if a dam has burst open inside of Chris. He parts his lips against Darren's, kissing him back fervently, running his tongue along his bottom lip and extracting a deep-throated moan from the curly-haired boy. He tightens his arms around Darren's body, pulling him even closer, their bodies molding together seamlessly. Darren bites Chris's bottom lip, and Chris gasps again. Darren takes the opportunity to dart his tongue into Chris's mouth, gently stroking Chris's tongue with his own while his hand trails up the younger boy's arm. Bolts of white-hot energy zing down their bodies and they melt into each other further.

Darren is the first to pull away, breathing hard. He has two bright spots of color on his cheekbones and his mouth is twisted up into a brilliant smile.

Chris is equally as breathless and dazed, and his cheeks are even rosier than usual.

"Wow," Darren breathes with a small, breathless laugh. "If I had known that you kiss that well, this would have happened waaay before now."

Chris laughs too, playfully shoving Darren's chest. Darren moves his own hand up to hold Chris's against his chest, squeezing gently. "If it wasn't already obvious," Darren whispers, moving closer to Chris again. "I love you."

Chris smiles so wide he thinks his face might split in two. "I love you too, you idiot," he says gleefully and eagerly captures Darren's mouth with his lips again.

Their second kiss is just as magical as the first, and they swear they can hear the swell of music in the background when their lips touch. When they part, they realize that the movie is still playing in the living room and a song has come on.

Laughing and still clutching each other, they stumble back to the sofa, and this time when they fall onto it together, Chris doesn't stop himself from moving as close to Darren as possible. He leans in and kisses Darren's cheek while Darren pulls him onto his lap, and they settle back, eyes on the screen.

Their attention, of course, isn't on the movie. Every few minutes their lips would meet or they would randomly smile at each other, and Darren can honestly say that this is the first time he has ever not paid attention to a Disney movie.

The next morning, Mia opens the front door of the apartment with the keys Darren had given her so long ago, intending to return them to him and get some things she had left behind.

Instead, she finds two boys curled against each other on the sofa, their noses touching and their lips curled into content smiles, their hands wrapped around each other's bodies.

_Well, he moved fast_, she thinks in amusement, and she should be bitter about that, but in all actuality, she couldn't be happier.

She slips back out the door, locking it again, letting the boys enjoy their morning in and deciding to come back for her things later. She walks to her car and joins the blond-haired boy who is waiting for her in the driver's seat. She smiles at him and leans in for a quick kiss as she settles into the passenger seat and they drive off.

Back in the apartment, Darren stirs from his sleep, his eyes slowly blinking open. The first things he sees are two closed eyelids, thick lashes lining the bottoms and fanning out against smooth, porcelain cheekbones.

The sight brings a smile to his face. _Chris. _

He props himself up on his elbows and leans down to kiss his love's forehead. _I love you so much,_ he thinks, his thumb gently stroking Chris's soft cheek while he stares at his perfection in adoration. _Always you…_ _Only you…_

And then he snuggles back down into Chris's embrace, feeling safe and warm and loved.


End file.
